Inlet-valve for blowing-tanks



H. A.-KIMBER. INL'ET VALVE FOR BLOWING TANKS.

APPLICATION FILED IIEC. 6', 1919.

Patented Aug. 2,1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

H. A. KIMBER.

INLET VALVE FOR BLOWiNG TANKS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 6, 1919.

Patented Aug. 2],1921.

2'SHEETSSHEET 2.

UNITED STATES" PATENT OFFICE.

HARRY ARTHUR KIMBER, OF NEW ROCHELLE, NEW YORK, ASSIG-NOR TO QUIGLEY FURNACE SPECIALTIES CO., INC.,

A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

INLET-VALVE FOR BLOWING-TANKS.

Original application filed January 31, 1918, Serial No. 214,755. Divided and this application filed Decem- Specification of Letters Patent.

her 6, 1919. Serial No. 343,105.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HARRY ARTHUR KIM- nna, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at New Rochelle, county of \Vestchester, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improve ments in Inlet-Valves for Blowing-Tanks, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to apparatus for handling finely pulverized coal and similar material and for forcing the same through pipes by means of compressed air, and comprises a. special valve for controlling the inlet of the coal to a tank from which it is to be driven out by air pressure, being a division of my application Serial No. 214,755, filed Jan. 31, 1918-. Such a valve must afford a full and unrestricted passage for the material flowing into the tank, usually by the action of gravity; must be of a construction which can be easily and quickly closed and must be capable of absolutely airtight closure so that none of the compressed air may escape even though a certain amount of the gritty, pulverized coal adheres to the valve face. In the accompanying drawings illustrating one form of apparatus embodying my invention Figure 1 is a side view of a blowing tank to which my invention has been applied, parts being broken away to show the valve.

Fig. 2 is a. vertical section of the valve on an enlarged scale, and

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section of the same.

Throughoutthe drawings like reference characters indicate like parts.

My invention is designed to be applied to an airtight tank such as shown in Fig. 1, which is employed for storing finely pulverized material such as powdered coal, and from which tank predetermined quantities of such material are expelled from time to time, as through pipes 76 and 77, by the pressure of compressed air.

The coal is delivered to the tank interior through a ipe (not shown) to the pipe section or hollow casting 115, set in top of the tank, the compressed air supply being closed off by valves 73 while the tank is being filled. When coal is to be discharged the inlet through pipe section 115 must be closed airtight while compressed air is admitted to the tank interior through pipe 72. When the inlet 115 is closed and the air pressure is on, the compressed air forces a stream of coal up and out through pipes 77, 76 and onward to the particular local b-in whose supply is to be replenished.

It is evident'that in order to carry out effectually the above described operations the valve or closure means controlling the coal inlet through 115 must be so constructedthat when open it will afford free ingress for the powdered'coal falling by the action of gravity, and also be capable of effecting an absolutely airtight closure in spite of the coal dust which will settle on, and adhere to the face of the valve and valve seat. My invention accomplishes these results by the construction here illustrated. It consists of the casting 115, of substantially cylindrical shape located in the upper head of the blowing cylinder and of the hinged bottom, or clack valve 119, hinged at the lower end of casting 115, and of means for ope-rating this clack valve. 120, is a yielding gasket mount ed in a groove in the face of the clack valve 119, and registering with the lower end of casting 115, forming a yielding closure face for the valve 119. Vertical motion of the valve necessary in seating itself with such yielding surface is allowed for by means of the loose hinged connection consisting of t e vertical slot 122, in the offset lug 121, on the casting 115, in which slot rests the pintle 123, of the hinge of valve 119. 124 is a crank arm on shaft 117, journaled in the walls of an extension chamber 116, formed near the upper end of castin 115, and this crank arm is connected by llnks 118, with valve 119, preferably by 'means of lug 119 on valve 119. On the outer end of shaft 117 is lever 68, connected, by link 69, to the hand operated lever 70, which, is pivoted to the side of the tank at 125, in such manner that it may be carried slightly beyond parallelism with the link 69, so as to automatically lock the parts in the position shown in Fig. 1 which is the position assumed when the cutoff valve 119 is closed. In order to allow for the yielding pressure necessary to hold the valve 119, tight upon its seat, an elastic or spring section 130 is inserted in the link 69. When the valve 119 is swung down and open, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, its offset hinge causes it to hang entirely outside the line of travel of the stream of coal dust falling through the hollow casting 115, into the blowing tank.

The operation of this apparatus is as follows: The cut-ofl' valve 119, is left open in the lower position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, when pulverized coal is to be delivered to the blowing tank from a storage bin or some conveying apparatus above it. This brings the valve lever 68, into the raised position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, and of course assumes that the valve operating hand lever 7 O, is in its elevated position. When it is desired to blow out a quantity of coal, the lever 70, is forced down into the position shown in Fig. 1, automatically locking itself against any upward tension of the link 69. This swings the valve 119, and its connected parts into the closed position shown in full lines in Figs. 1 and 2. The parts are so proportioned that forcing lever 70, into the position shown in Fig. 1, will put the spring section 130 of link 69, under tension and produce a constant powerful upward pull on the valve 119, causing it to make an air tight closure through the action of the elastic gasket 120.

As the air in the tank is full of flying coal dust while the tank is being filled, some of it is bound to accumulate on the face of valve 119, and more may lodge there as the valve is being closed, but the elastic facing gasket 120, makes an airtight joint with the casting 115 in spite of the coal particles which may adhere to either or both, since the valve 119 is free, by reason of its slotted hinge, to adjust itself to any slight inequalities in the extent of compression of different portions of the gasket 120, and the yielding material of which it is composed closes around the coal particles.

Having described my invention, I claim:

An inlet valve for blowing tanks designed to handle finely pulverized coal and the like which comprises, in combination, a vertically arranged hollow casting adapted to be set in the upper head of the tank, a valve having a loose-hinged connection offset from the lower end of the casting and having an elastic gasket set in its face in position to be pressed against the lower end of the casting when the valve is closed, and means for holding the valve in closed position and evenly compressing said gasket by vreason of the freedom of adjustment of the valve afforded by the loose hinge, which means comprises an upwardly projecting lug on the upper face of the valve, a lever extending through the wall of the hollow casting and pivoted therein, a connection from the end of the above mentioned lug to the inner end of said lever, an eXterior crank and. an elastic connection from the said crank to the exterior end of the above mentioned lever.

HARRY ARTHUR KIMBER.

Witnesses:

L. E. TURK, CHARLES O. MAIIONY. 

